Creating Options
Helping students to create viable options is important to retention. Just a gentle nudge can start this process. Not just students, but all need some counseling when looking for an abundance of creative options to solve problems. The more options available the better the chances of reaching a suitable solution. An instructor can be a good listener and lead a student to his or her own solution. Many times we all have blinders on and tend to see only one way out. In the case of some students that would be to "quit". My question is : Some students never consider quitting as an option. Is there some way to identify & capitalize on this student mind set to help other students?
One of the factors that influences this type of decision making is the student's sense of locus of control. There is a considerable body of research that studies a person's sense of how much they control [or are responsible for] the world around them. A person with high internal locus of control believes that they are the master of their fate while the externally oriented person often sees themselves as a victim of circumstances beyond their control.
I have been seeing more and more schools including this topic in first year experience/transition courses. It also provides a great opportunity to talk about personal responsibility for success. There are assessments available to measure where an individual stands on the continuum. We include one of these in Campus ToolKit.
